November 4, 2020 thought for the day: When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. French Proverb

I spent the waking moments this morning thinking about life. My thinking led to we are each alone, each a unique individual created for a purpose. We live with others but we’re still a single exclusive thinking being. In the end we have to depend on our own decisions and their consequences. Share our unique thoughts and take in those of others to grow and share even more. After a while I thought,  I had better get up and I depressing myself. 

The photo challenge yesterday was “sugar”. I could have used pieces of candy for the subject but I don’t have candy on hand. I do have cookies and Suzy Q’s. The “final” decision was for a pile of granulated sugar with a side of brown sugar and a touch of powdered sugar. For the format and composition of the “final” image the powdered sugar was cropped out. 

Well after that “deep soul searching” I got started on a pretty mundane and “normal” day thinking what adventures lie ahead of me. Where will my guiding light take me today. 

The first wave of today’s adventure was a trip to the eye
doctor to get my “new” glasses. Next, instead of coming straight home, I went on my daily photo safari. After some not-so-much-paying-attention-wandering I ended up at the back side of a structure I have wanted to learn more about but it was a bit frightening. It was at the back of rundown business structure with small piles of junk and weeds. Through the weeds and junk there was a beautiful mural/graffiti design on the back of one of the buildings....I guess the whole vision could have been called “beauty and the beast”. But I got the heck out of there with another wonder for my memory and knowledge base (and a photo). One of the photos I captured on this excursion turned out to be the photo of the day for today which was titled “nature”.  At least I got away from all the voting information that is being repeated ten, eleven, twenty times a day on the TV with commentary, over and over again, why this candidate is bad and this one good. 

Finally, at home I came back to earth. I got the message and hymn compiled and reading for printing along with the shut in envelopes. I think that will be the limit to my useful direction today. 

The word is path. God leads every soul by a separate path, John of the Cross. Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated, Confucius. Remember when life's path is steep to keep your mind even, Horace. A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life, Charles Darwin. True wisdom, indeed, springs from the wide brain which is fed from the deep heart; and it is only when age warms its withering conceptions at the memory of its youthful fire, when it makes experience serve aspiration, and knowledge illumine the difficult paths through which thoughts thread their way into facts,--it is only then that age becomes broadly and nobly wise, Edwin Percy Whipple.  The only path to a tranquil life is through virtue, Juvenal. The movement of the soul along the path of duty, under the influence of holy love to God, constitutes what we call good works, Thomas Erskine, 1st Baron Erskine.  A good person, striving dimly,Is well aware of the right path, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  The most melancholy thing about human nature, is, that a man may guide others into the path of salvation, without walking in it himself; that he may be a pilot, and yet a castaway, Prince Augustus William of Prussia.  Let us carve gems out of our stony hearts and let them light our path to love, Rumi.  If one hesitates in his path, let him not proceed. Let him respect his doubts, for doubts, too, may have some divinity in them, Henry David Thoreau. To err from the right path is common to mankind, Sophocles.

This article is much longer than the ones I usually pick. But it is about what I think is an important part of Columbus’ history. It is story about Franklinton and it’s “rebirth”. It was one of the earliest settlements. My church got it’s start here. One of the first cemetery’s was located here. Many settlers arrived here before traveling further. Part of the heading of the story read “Neighborhood leaders are grappling with how to preserve Franklinton's history as a working class hub even as a new generation of residents reshape its identity.” The story opened telling about a working man who on most evenings enjoyed relaxing on his porch located on a hill allowing a view of a seedy side of the neighborhood. These sights may include violence, prostitution and drugs. Another resident living not far away from the first is contributing to the “growing art scene” to be found in this neighborhood. She commented that she is happy with the new visions of the area. The new growth has added “swanky” apartment buildings and offered “lively” festivals. This area of Columbus has dealt with poverty and it’s related occurrences. The article reported that Franklinton residents made below $25,000 and more than 185 of the houses were vacant. A problem that seem to be arising is that some people involved in saving the neighborhood want to preserve the history of the area’s “Appalachian roots” and still adapt to the “new generation”wanting to “reshape its identity”. Some are hoping that people who have been there the longest and have dealt with the challenges will want and be able to afford to stay. Following are listed some of the things that are being included in the process of rejuvenating the area.  In 1959 there was a destructive flood and initiated a nick name for the area “the Bottoms”. In 1983 the Federal Emergency Management Agency declared the area a “flood plain”. In 2004 a flood wall was built allowing for construction permits to be issued again. In 2020 the area was “targeted for revitalization”. In 2019 it was discovered that the median income of the area had grown to $35,975. A big part of the revitalization is in the area of art. In another area of the revitalization affordable housing grants have been used to hopefully drive up the values of the houses and hope the owners with improve and maintain the homes. The hope is that there will be a mixed-income community. One worry is that in the redevelopment some of the low income residents will be forced to move more toward the Hilltop area. There is sill hope that the housing options can be managed leaving the area open to “turn the tide” and more businesses will come to and/or return to the area. A statement from the first man interviewed at the beginning of the story said that “the farther you go east the better the housing.....and they’re starting to work down here to get things right.”. He hopes that the development efforts won’t push the values of homes to a level he can’t afford. 

I pulled some chicken and dumplings out of the freezer for dinner. 

Joy